150 books
—
20 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “Masterpiece Comics” as Want to Read:
Masterpiece Comics
by
HILARIOUS PARODIES OF CLASSIC LITERATURE REIMAGINED WITH CLASSIC COMICS
Masterpiece Comics adapts a variety of classic literary works with the most iconic visual idioms of twentieth-century comics. Dense with exclamation marks and lurid colors, R. Sikoryak's parodies remind us of the sensational excesses of the canon, or, if you prefer, of the economical expressiveness of ...more
Masterpiece Comics adapts a variety of classic literary works with the most iconic visual idioms of twentieth-century comics. Dense with exclamation marks and lurid colors, R. Sikoryak's parodies remind us of the sensational excesses of the canon, or, if you prefer, of the economical expressiveness of ...more
Get A Copy
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
Masterpiece Comics,
please sign up.
Be the first to ask a question about Masterpiece Comics
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30
Start your review of Masterpiece Comics
Kinda corny, sometimes pretty clever...funny in places, matching famous comics with famous literature...
This is a book of short comics depicting stories from classic literature written and drawn in the style of familiar comic strips and comic books, usually with characters from the comics playing the roles of characters from the classics. This is a brilliant idea, but there are two distinct pitfalls Sikoryak has to avoid in order to make it work:
It can't be a wink-wink, nudge-nudge, painfully self-aware exercise in which the characters are constantly saying, "Hoho, we're little cartoon characters ...more
It can't be a wink-wink, nudge-nudge, painfully self-aware exercise in which the characters are constantly saying, "Hoho, we're little cartoon characters ...more
If you like comics and classic literature this book will make you laugh.
I have nothing to add to the publisher's synopsis by way of review, save that I would substitute "clever mashups" for "hilarious parody." As implied by the publisher, Sikoryak is a gifted visual mimic who has (mostly) successfully redacted classic works of the literary canon. He uses verbatim dialogue in some cases and eschews it where appropriate to the context (as in the full-page Beavis & Butthead realization of Waiting for Godot in which Didi regales Gogo as a "dumbass"). I thought the
...more
What a delight, what a lark! Being a Victorian literature geek and a comic book nerd, how much fun was it to read some of my favorite works interpreted as pulp and classic strips? My favorite was The Heights, a 1950s dimestore rag portrayal of the Emily Bronte gothic epic - just an example of how well Sikoryak thought out the parallels and literal allusions between classic works of literature and comic art symbolism. I don't typically endorse watering down the great classics, but with a
...more
Classic literature told through the guise of classic comic strips: Kafka's Metamorphosis by way of Peanuts: Scarlet Letter by way of Little Lulu; Macbeth by way of Mary Worth; Dante's Inferno through the Double Bubble Gum comics, and others. Surprisingly, the plots of the stories are accurately presented, just a different and fun medium. Note of Caution: These are definitely Not For Children. The stories are not bowdlerized. For example, Blondie and Dagwood tell the story of Adam and Eve with
...more
"Doing classic literature as comics so kids will understand it, man" is as old as the comics medium, so it's fun for someone like Sikoryak to come along and do the whole thing with a wink and a nudge. Thus, "the Stranger" becomes "Action Camus" (after "Action Comics") with the absurdity of Superman emitting existential, miserable one-liners as he's led to the guillotine, while "the Scarlet Letter" becomes "Lil' Pearl" by way of "Little Lulu." While most are played for lulz, "Wuthering Heights"
...more
A great collection of comics by Sikoryak, and a must have if you didn't read the strips when they were being printed in places like Raw. Brilliant in that they don't adapt the classics, but rather comment and engage them, making it work on something like a half dozen levels for any reader familiar with the stories and comics he uses to tell them.
A friend informed me of the existence of this work and I must thank him heartily. The work has several fine details going for it, including art which gloriously mimics and parodies the work of Jim Davis, Charles Schulz, and countless others. While some had more impact on me than others – a character like Bat-Man as the protagonist in Crime and Punishment was far more enjoyable than the Tales from the Crypt / Bronte mashup – this is, perhaps, more linked to my fondness for Dostoevsky over Bronte.
...more
R. Sikoryak’s “Masterpiece Comics” is an inspired mash-up, combining classic works of literature with classic comic book and comic strip characters. At their best, the stories unite shared themes underlying each work. “Blond Eve” settles the Bumsteads in the Garden of Eden, where Dagwood’s open gluttony and Blondie’s innocent curves subject them to the raging wrath of Mr. Dithers.
It’s fun to watch Sikoryak connect the dots. Garfield’s selfishness takes a sinister turn as he tempts Jon Arbuckle ...more
It’s fun to watch Sikoryak connect the dots. Garfield’s selfishness takes a sinister turn as he tempts Jon Arbuckle ...more
R. Sikoryak has done something quite ingenious in this volume. He has opted to retell works of classic (not classical) works of literature in comics form. However, rather than aiming for straight adaptations, Sikoryak uses the style and characters of specific classic comics for each retelling, e.g. 1950s EC Comics for the retelling of Brontë's Wuthering Heights in "The House-Keeper's Tale (in The Crypt of Brontë) and early Batman stories from Detective Comics for the retelling of Dostoyevsky's
...more
Definitely one of the top ten graphic novels of 2009, Sikoryak’s clever amalgamation of major comic books tropes and styles with classic novels and characters from world literature is an amazing read that leaves no doubt that he is one of comic-dom’s most brilliant creators living today. (And to think that I hadn’t heard of him until I picked this up just recently.)
Imagine Garfield as Christopher Marlowe’s Faust if Jim Davis had drawn it as a cartoon strip, Wuthering Heights as a Tales from the ...more
Imagine Garfield as Christopher Marlowe’s Faust if Jim Davis had drawn it as a cartoon strip, Wuthering Heights as a Tales from the ...more
For over a century pop culture writers have taken classic stories and changed them just enough so that audiences and readers could not recognize that they were swiped from Homer, Shakespeare, and Dickens. Sikoryak stakes the ground in-between this and adaptation. It is obvious that he is using classic sources, in fact it is one of the selling points, but he also recasts familiar comic strip and book characters to play the leads. Batman becomes Dostoyevsky’s murderer in a Detective Comics version
...more
Very funny, I may be the EXACT audience for this collection, as I adore books and classic literature, but don't mind some poking fun of them, and I am familiar with the newspaper comics enough to get those jokes (thank you comics curmudgeon!) Teens would probably find this book awesome, but I wonder if they would be familiar with Mary Worth and Tales from the Crypt. The knowledge isn't necessary, but it does add an extra level of fun and funniness.
My favorite was the Tales from the ...more
My favorite was the Tales from the ...more
In a year where the brain dead PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES mashup sold oodles and publishers sold their souls to crap out the next zombie/monster/classic mashup (okay, I’m speaking in hyperbole…publishers have no souls), R. Sikoryak’s insanely funny, smart, and deep (yes, deep!) collection of comic/classic mashups is the kind of book to be read and reread and you’d still not catch all the brilliant metaphors and links to themes of both classic lit and classic comic. That, or just delight in
...more
A great book for the literati, literature-minded, previous English majors, you name it! You've got Dostoyevsky's Crime & Punishment in a "Batman" comic form, The Scarlet Letter in "Little Pearl" comic form, Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus is played out through "Garfield", Wuthering Heights is told through a "Tales from the Crypt Keeper" strip, and it goes on. Highly entertaining for a literature geek . . . even the "advertisements" that accompany comic books have literature metaphors
...more
Fun interpretations of literary classics (from the story of Adam and Eve to Wuthering Heights to Kafka) as portrayed by classic comic book characters. I particularly enjoyed the letter "question and answer" portion at the end of each section which explained Sikoryak's thoughts and reasons behind why he chose which comic book characters to tell which stories.
Being familiar with these stories seems helpful, although there were several I was not familiar with and I enjoyed their comic book versions ...more
Being familiar with these stories seems helpful, although there were several I was not familiar with and I enjoyed their comic book versions ...more
Witty and delightful, especially for those of us who tend to lean more towards literature than comics. This really does show the power of comics, the breadth of the medium. The shorter pieces - the parody of Candide and The Stranger - are the strongest, because I think Sikoryak is more expressive here. He's not as bogged down in fully representing a long and complex story, but rather captures the essence of a classic work of literature, distills it down to it's recognizable elements and then
...more
The canon as comic book. Rather than "illustated classics", these are wonderfully clever parodies that use masterful take-offs on classic comics. Ziggy as Candide. Little Nemo as Dorian Gray. Superman as the Stranger from Camus. There's a great retelling of Genesis using Blondie and Dagwood. And a rockin version of Wuthering Heights done as a Tales From the Crypt EC Horror comic. It's clever, the comics are spot on... The only problem is that there's not enough of it. But rest assured, I'm sure
...more
This book was so cool! Sikoryak takes literary classics like The Scarlet Letter, Crime and Punishment, and The Metamorphosis and re-tells them in the style of classic comics! Anyone who's loved Little Lulu will enjoy her as "Pearl" in "Red Letter Days"; her mom plays Hester and Tubby plays Hester's long lost husband! And poor old Charlie Brown makes a perfect Gregor Samsa. I'd give this book to older kids if it weren't for the Creation story with Dagwood and Blondie in their pre-sin state of
...more
I'm usually not one for careless superlatives, but this is the greatest! A brilliant work of comics adaptation, translating not only the classic works of literature themselves, but also the classic comics used as scaffolding to retell the stories. Sikoryak chooses comics close or pertinent to the literary themes in his adaptations, so that the medium definitely becomes part of the message. Outstanding!
Perfect! Classics of literature told through classics of comics: "Wuthering Heights" as an EC horror comic. "Faust" as a Garfield comic, The book of Genesis as a Blondie comic, Dante's "Inferno" as a series of Bazooka Joe comics... and so much more. The art is dead-on in its reproduction of the original strips, yet the tone and message of the underlying stories are preserved. A treat!
Classic pieces of literature re-interpreted through classic strips - the Garden of Eden starring Dagwood and Blondie, Dante's Inferno starring Bazooka Joe, etc. - Sikoyak does a good job aping the different visual styles and fitting their humor into the context of the classic he's referencing. It's not great, but it's kinda cute.
Interesting mash-ups of classic literature and newspaper comics. The Charlie Brown/Kafka comic that I first saw in The Graphic Canon stood as my favorite of the bunch, although The Scarlet Letter was also very good (as were others).
Retelling of classics such as Wuthering Heights each done in the style of a classic comic: Blondie, Prince Valiant, etc. IMHO The Scarlet Letter dome in the style of Nancy was the best but for the most part, I wasn’t engaged. Meh.
Interesting idea but not really that interesting
"Where classics and cartoons collide" ...Not a fan.
from my favorite comics, congratulations
Dec 23, 2009
Erik Graff
rated it
liked it
Recommends it for:
Classic Comics fans
Recommended to Erik by:
Rick Strong
Shelves:
art
My Dad lives in East Dundee, Illinois, right along the Fox River, and I spent most of elementary school nearby, just north of the Meadowdale Shopping Center, back when the family couldn't afford anything like a riverside home. One day when I was about eight we were in town together, at the drugstore, on the same steet where, years later, they would film part of Road to Perdition. Whatever his business was, Dad, as was his wont, was browsing--a lengthy process of comparison pricing. I was
...more
It's artfully done- Sikoryak is a very competent stylist and mimic- and I enjoyed it, but ultimately this is a one gag book built around a single formula. And it revels in the a fatal weakness of modern comics for self-reference...the last thing we need is another comic about comics or comic writers- we need the talent to concentrate on expanding the frontiers not closing them off. It's all very knowing and ironic, but it rather makes me yearn for the innocence of the original golden age comics
...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Required Reading ...: New recommendation | 4 | 2 | Mar 15, 2019 09:57AM |
Readers also enjoyed
Robert Sikoryak (born 1964) is an American artist whose work is usually signed R. Sikoryak. He specializes in making comic adaptations of literature classics, producing a mashup of high culture and low culture. Under the series title Masterpiece Comics, these include Crime and Punishment rendered in Bob Kane–era Batman style, becoming Dostoyevsky Comics, starring Raskol; and Waiting for Godot
...more
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
